Michael D Goldhaber

January 01, 2011 | The American Lawyer

The Alfa Group-Telenor saga shows how businesses can be thrown off balance by litigation in the developing--and how international arbitration and the U.S. justice system can even the score.

By Michael D. Goldhaber

7 minute read

April 24, 2000 | Law.com

Gay attorneys give firms mixed reviews on their receptiveness to the gay and lesbian lawyers in their midst. While some firms are accepting of gay attorneys, other firms display blatant homophobia. Still others practice a version of "don't ask, don't tell," raising the ire of some.

By Michael D. Goldhaber

4 minute read

April 28, 2000 | Law.com

In a hidden tragedy that has been going on for 20 years, thousands of children have been torn from their families by states, as the unintended result of a wrinkle in the Social Security Act. In a new report, the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law reports that in about half the states, families of severely disturbed children are routinely forced to choose between retaining custody and obtaining treatment.

By Michael D. Goldhaber

9 minute read

February 02, 2009 | National Law Journal

Invited to compare the American and Jewish legal traditions of privacy when speaking at a conference last week, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia reached out to criticize the European tradition, arguing that under a proper conception of the judicial role, judges have little to say about privacy. Author Michael D. Goldhaber writes that Scalia's remarks nicely capture the contradictions between his temperament and his professed philosophy -- and what makes Scalia's religious views dangerous.

By Michael D. Goldhaber

5 minute read

June 20, 2007 | Law.com

In a case pitting Russian conglomerate Alfa Group Consortium against a Bermuda investment vehicle, IPOC International Growth Fund Limited, the prize was a stake in Russian cell phone operator OAO MegaFon worth up to $2.5 billion. The case was rife with allegations of spy-like tactics, but the arbitration will be remembered as the first where arbitrators evaluated a party's criminality. A Zurich panel found that IPOC was a vessel for Russia's minister of telecommunications to launder stolen money.

By Michael D. Goldhaber

9 minute read

December 01, 1999 | Law.com

Last year, Ted Cruz and Matt Henshon toted briefs. Now they tote briefing books for George W. Bush and Bill Bradley. Next year, one of them could be the next George Stephanopoulos. Or both could end up as New Hampshire road kill.

By Michael D. Goldhaber

4 minute read

November 29, 1999 | Law.com

In a deal close to approval, Swiss banks would pay $1.25 billion to non-Jewish Holocaust victims, including Romani (Gypsies), the disabled, Jehovah's Witnesses and gays. The Swiss settlement would exclude those oppressed because of nationality or politics. Notably, it would give no money to non-Jewish Polish slave laborers used by Swiss-financed companies. "I don't get the distinctions here," complains a former U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum historian. "It may be good law, but it's incomplete history."

By Michael D. Goldhaber

6 minute read

July 17, 2000 | Law.com

They were the shouldabeen Monkees of the early 80s, the thinking man's "Weird Al" Yankovic and, the lineal ancestors of Britney Spears. And now, they're back, puffing their new CD, "Then More Than Ever." Blotto, the cult parody band best known for "I Wanna Be a Lifeguard" is back. Only it turns out that, all along, drummer Paul Rapp just wanted to be a lawyer.

By Michael D. Goldhaber

5 minute read

October 04, 1999 | Law.com

A new study in the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, "Blue-Chip Bilking," takes a longer view and tallies the rotten apples. Lisa Lerman, of Catholic University of America School of Law, counts exactly 16 elite firm partners during the past 10 years who allegedly stole at least $100,000 in a billing or expense scam. Seven were managing partners. "I wanted to make a point about rot at the top," Professor Lerman says.

By Michael D. Goldhaber

9 minute read

July 07, 2000 | Law.com

When Megan Gray was a first-year, she felt discouraged from developing her own small-bore clients. Gray promptly left O'Melveny & Myers for the Los Angeles office of Cleveland's Baker & Hostetler. Today, as a fifth-year, she has a million-dollar book of business and is the nation's leading private cybersmear defense lawyer.

By Michael D. Goldhaber

5 minute read